Creepers, overgrown vegetation turn Salt Lake into a shadow of its landscaped past

Kolkata: Salt Lake, which once prided itself as a planned township of landscaped greens, now looks short of a wilderness of overrun vegetation, growing merrily everywhere — the sidewalks, parks and the empty plots. The situation is such that the grounds have become out of bounds for children, the elderly and football and cricket enthusiasts.
Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) would earlier allot funds to beautify open spaces.But lack of maintenance has turned them into no-man’s land. Walking around the township, one would find densely overgrown creepers climbing up the cables and wires (the other major hazard in Salt Lake), covering the lamp posts or hanging from just about any structure – the iron fencing in the parks or the boundary walls around the empty plots that have long turned into garbage dumps. Mosses have grown on the sides of the streets, the paver blocks and walking tracks inside parks. Even the medians are covered with wild greens.
Once popular hangouts for residents and visitors, the parks now resemble mini forests. Sightings of snakes has become common. Especially frightened are the old and the infirm and parents of younger children. “I have stopped sending my daughter to BF-CF park. I don’t see the adults playing football either,” said Arushi Sharma, a resident.
Things are much the same for AE Park. “The playground is somewhat safe because it is paved. But the rest of the park is overrun by shrubs and bushes, as tall as my 7-year-old grandson. The entire township has become a picture of neglect,” a senior citizen at AE Block said.
Sujay Sarkar, who has recently taken over as the BMC commissioner, said: “We are on the job. It will take a month to make out the difference. The weeds grow really fast and it might seem these spaces haven’t been touched for ages.”
A BMC official echoed: “In the monsoons, despite being trimmed from time to time, there’s a spurt in growth of foliage and the township seems overrun with shrubs and bushes. Electric grass-cutters can only be used in dry weather conditions. Manual removal is slow.”
Certain pockets like the Green Verge look trimmed. BMC is planning extensive repair and renovation of the parks across Salt Lake, starting with the ones at AK, BK and JC blocks.
An estimated Rs 11 lakh will be spent for remodelling the AK Block park. Sources said the last time the parks had undergone a thorough repair was in 2015.